


blessing of a lifetime

by kleif_asu



Category: SixTONES (Band)
Genre: Song fic?, debut anniversary fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-16 12:27:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28956453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kleif_asu/pseuds/kleif_asu
Summary: As SixTONES’ first debut anniversary draws near, Hokuto comes to terms with his feelings about them. Maybe, it’s time he stopped hiding behind the walls he created.
Kudos: 8





	blessing of a lifetime

**Author's Note:**

> fic for 6T's first debut anniv~ and also an entry for teamsixtonesph "write their SixTORY contest" :)
> 
> sorry I don’t know the names of Hokuto’s 2 other friends >w< Also I wrote this before the release of the album/ when I didn’t see any translations yet so I tried doing my own interpretation/creative take on the lyrics
> 
> I conceptualized the outline of this fic around the time the 1-minute song previews were released. Then it’s like the members knew my plans for this fic and they go and release/do things that fit perfectly into the scenarios I had in mind LOL

“Is that the new song you’re talking about?”

Hokuto’s lips pursed, the melody cut off. He didn’t realize he was whistling. His two companions were looking at him excitedly.

“Yes…” He reached for his glass and drank, hiding his face that for sure is flushed at the moment.

Their first album is in the works and he was tasked to come up with lyrics for one of the songs. It’s the first time he’s gonna write lyrics for SixTONES’ song so yes, he’s also very excited about it. But there’s this lingering doubt whether he’s the right man for the job. It’s a love song. Wouldn’t Taiga or Jesse be better?

“If you’re that worried about it, just think of something you love. Anything. Then shape the theme around it. That still counts as a “love” song, right?” One of his friends says.

“What if he chooses onigiri, would that still work?” The other two had a moment of silence looking at each other before bursting with laughter. Hokuto rolls his eyes and lets out an amused sigh.

_What you love, huh._

What _does_ he love anyway? His family, we know that. Studying?

He's had his fair share of romantic experiences. But the memory has blurred and the feeling has faded since then. For him, love is as vague as it can get. An emotion he treasures but doesn’t really understand.

He has resolved to not think about it too much, lest his head hurts. Like right now.

As soon as he woke up, he got the demo tape out and listened to it the rest of his morning. He was able to write a few words but most ended up on his bedroom floor. Out of frustration, he flopped himself back to his bed.

He’s getting irritated the longer he stares at the cream-colored ceiling.

The knock on his door was a welcome distraction.

“Coming!” He plucked his earphones off. He also kicked the crumpled papers under his reading table on his way to open the door. The person on the other side was his mother. The loving smile she gave him as he came into view melted some of his worries. He gave her a tight embrace.

“It’s almost SixTONES’ first debut anniversary, right,” his mom started after sipping her tea. She must’ve noticed the sideway glances he kept on giving her bag. She usually uses small pouches instead of a medium-sized tote bag when she visits, “so I brought you something.”

She took out something from the bag. Hokuto guessed it was a handmade bentou, but the size was bigger than the typical lunch containers. His mother just smiled back as Hokuto looked at her with quizzically raised eyebrows. He carefully unwrapped the furoshiki; it was a brown box, battered with age.

Hokuto looked up at his mom with wide eyes. “I was cleaning your old room the other day and found that still tucked in the same corner where you left it. Since your anniversary is coming up, I thought interviews or shows might ask for that kind of stuff.” His mom clasped his hands in hers as Hokuto shook his head.

“Maybe, but I don’t think that’ll happen. I don’t think I’m up for variety shows. Have you seen me in one since the last one in January?” His mom pinched his cheeks so hard, stunning him. “Stop being pessimistic! Geez, you just have to inherit that trait from your dad.”

Despite his protests, he found himself going thru the contents of the box soon after she left. The nostalgia instantly hit him.

The said box was full of trinkets from his early johnnysjr days, long before SixTONES was formed. And among the many memorabilia and old fan letters was a photo album.

He’s hesitating.

After all, old age wasn’t the only reason that the box was so fragile and almost torn apart. With bated breath, he dared open it.

There were photos of himself with other juniors, some of whom left the agency a long time already, and pictures with BI shadow, NYC boys members, and of Bakaleya.

_Make it through ups and downs_

_Don’t look back, we’ll stand strong_

He stroked a particular picture with his thumb, lost in thought. He envied his past self with that innocent bright smile, something that Bakaleya-era Hokuto seemed to slip away. He got interrupted by his phone ringing.

**From: Manager H**

**Sorry I know it’s your day off, but the higher-ups wanted to meet the cast for the new project. The meeting starts in 2 hours. I’m already here in the parking area.**

**Reply:**

**It’s okay. I’m coming down. Thanks.**

There was a pen beside his keys. He bit his lip in contemplation.

In his hurried but neat writing, he scrawled a few lines before heading out.

\------

He slowly sipped his beer while looking at the person beside him. Oblivious to his stare, Jesse continues to dig at his ramen. It was a little past 9 in the evening and both had just finished a variety show recording.

Jesse raised the bowl to his face, loudly slurping the remaining soup. “Ramen and beer after work are really the best!”

“I know right,”

“What’s with that sly smile?” Jesse pouted. Hokuto chuckled at the sight of Jesse’s duck face and looked away.

“Nothing in particular,”

“You’re feeling it too, aren’t you,” Jesse took a big swig of his beer. “I didn’t expect the show would invite our fans over!” Jesse clenched his fist on his chest as if to show how heartwarming it felt for him.

“Yeah. Some of them were already fans during our bakaleya era too.”

He was jolted when Jesse shouted in excitement. “You’re doing that Hokuto-specific smile again! HAHAH”

“Cut it out!” Hokuto elbowed him and laughed with him.

When they both calmed down, Hokuto took out his phone.

“Say cheese~”

If Jesse was confused at the sudden invitation, he didn’t voice it out. He did have a shocked Pikachu face for almost the rest of the conversation which Hokuto ignored for his amusement.

_Someplace in the night,_

_I see your inviting shoulder to lean on_

_We are one tonight_

He didn’t dwell much on the picture until it was brought up again a few days later.

“You know little stones,” Juri looked Hokuto in the eye with an annoying smile, “Jesse texted me late at night the other day. I wonder what’s up, I said to myself. Maybe he was drunk or something,” Hokuto was laughing. Juri continued, “he doesn’t really text people _that_ late at night, little stones, okay?”

“And you know what he texted? He—HAHAHAHAH, his text was just ‘I had a selfie with HOKUTO!!’ ” The both of them doubled over laughing. The staff can also be heard giggling from outside the radio booth.

“He said it like he had a picture with his favorite idol or something. I knew it! You really love us, don’t you! Aww, Hokuto rabyu~” Juri started a tirade of sound effects, the staff are still laughing.

“Stop it!” Hokuto said between giggles. The interruption only made Juri click the sfx buttons more repeatedly.

“Stop teasing me! Little stones listen; I might be like _this_ ,”

“A tsundere bastard,” Juri snorted, away from the mic.

“Shh! I might be like this but I genuinely love them all okay?” Hokuto knows he’s already blushing so he immediately covered his face. It didn’t escape Juri who instantly declared it for all the listeners to know. Hokuto cleared his throat to hide his embarrassment.

“Story time! Chibi Hokuto used to print pictures I took with my phone and compile them on a photo album. I love writing down my day,”

“like a diary?”

"Yeah, but I wanted it to be as detailed as possible, to immortalize the moment, ya know? So, I thought why not take pictures of those moments too? So I did that. I stumbled upon those old albums of mine the other day. I stopped doing it at one point,” Hokuto paused, “but I want to do it again.”

“Awwwwww”

“What the—Ahh!” The sound of rustlings can be heard thru the radio.

“For the listeners, I’m hugging this emo boy to death as we speak.”

“We’re live right now dude, have your shit together. Hey staff-san, don’t just play Love u.. in the background!” The script and program were forgotten for a while. Laughter erupted from inside and outside the booth. Listeners are surely rolling their eyes right now.

_Cause now you’re my blessing of a lifetime_

_Surpassing our hardest times together_

\---

Only a few days left before the deadline! With his busy schedule—movies and drama filming left and right—only the A melody and chorus is done.

What if he can’t do it?

The frustration is creeping back. He opened the door with a little more force than usual.

He heard someone yelp at the sound. It was Taiga. Great.

Whatever, he was exhausted.

Besides, they are on better terms now. After closely working with him for their unit song, he began to open up to him again. He didn’t really mind it anymore even if it's just the two of them in the green room.

But not now. Not when he's going through something.

He nodded in his direction before heading to the tables, making sure that he was not facing Taiga. He didn’t want any distractions if he wanted things done.

Soon enough, he's gripping the edge of the table. If only he was alone.

"You're working on the song for the album, right?" Hokuto jumped at the sudden voice. Taiga was leaning from behind, his face too close for comfort.

"Yeah,"

"Show me what you've worked on so far," Taiga nonchalantly took the seat next to him.

"I see what you're trying to convey. Only the bridge left huh," Taiga took out his phone and passed Hokuto the other end of his earphones.

"Visualize what you’ve written so far while listening along with the melody. Then try to connect it to--"

Trust Taiga to know the right words to say. He’s embarrassed to admit it, but Taiga has this ability or talent to bring the best in people. Ever since.

_We’re gonna make it last forever_

_Just promise we’ll look out for each other_

They were all together when the 6 hours live stream was being broadcast. They had magazine shoots since morning. Between breaks, their manager would update them about what’s happening. Sometimes, they’ll tune in themselves and browse thru the internet’s reaction.

During one of his breaks, Hokuto also read through comments about the stream. He was happy to see the fans’ reactions and insights. He flinched when a cold water bottle touched his elbow.

Shintaro had just finished his solo shoot and was also on break. “Don’t worry too much about it. You did great, Hokuto.” He didn’t know if it was Shintaro’s assuring smile or the fact that he knew Hokuto was silently worrying that made him feel his insecurities crumble and disappear for good.

Hokuto took the bottle and thanked Shintaro with a smile. It just made the latter smile bigger before running off. Once he was alone again, he released the breath he was holding.

All the hard work had paid off!

But more than anything, he hopes that his feelings are conveyed and felt, by fans and the other members alike.

\---

Another day of filming ended.

Hokuto can’t help the series of yawns he let out as he and his manager head for the car.

“I picked up Kouchi-kun from his filming earlier. Would it be alright if I dropped him off first?”

“Sure.”

Kouchi greeted him as he slumped down the other passenger seat. Hokuto understood their manager’s sentiments. Kouchi looked dreary and sleepy; it was evident that he had snoozed off before they arrived.

The car ride was comfortably smooth and quiet; Hokuto busied himself with his phone.

He didn’t flinch when he felt a weight against his shoulder as Kouchi, falling back to sleep, was heavily leaning on Hokuto. He let him fall down so that Kouchi’s head was resting on his lap.

Hokuto went back to his phone, his hand mindlessly carding thru the older one’s hair. His thoughts raced back to their BI Shadow days when Hokuto would stay the weekend at Kouchi’s house. He remembered how Kouchi would do the same, when he thought that Hokuto was fast asleep.

They were like a team then. To him, Kouchi’s the closest he has to a shinme.

Despite his previous comment on their youtube video about his doubts being in the same group with him again, his love and endearment toward the other was and is always still there. He regretted that he even bothered to suppress it, afraid of getting hurt again.

His hands stopped when Kouchi stirred under him.

“How long was I asleep?”

“An hour, we’ve arrived about 10 minutes ago,” Kouchi took his time stretching.

_Our unforgettable memories kept unchanged_

_The lifetime I want to live with you_

\---

The sound of laughter woke him up. He locked eyes with his manager thru the rear-view mirror, looking sorry. Right.

Hokuto was currently en route to his filming location. At 12 midnight. He straightened himself at the passenger seat.

"Can you please turn the volume up a little more?"

He scrolled thru their LINE group chat. It looks like Shintaro is joining Juri for ANN. That's gonna be fun. He won’t worry about falling asleep before they reach their destination anymore.

The familiar opening tune played.

"... and lastly. Hokuto's phone." He perked up at the mention of his name.

"Should we talk about it?" Shin said over the radio. "Okay, so before our msute performance, Hokuto went out, right,"

"To fix his hair or something,"

"Yeah, and he left his phone in the green room. So, I took a picture with it."

"Ah! That group photo, the five of us. Do you think he's noticed yet?"

"No. If he did, he would surely have messaged me about it by now."

"Have you seen it yet? His manager asked, turning his head slightly towards him, "the picture,"

"Not... yet." And there it is. The latest picture in his gallery. Hokuto leaned forward to show it to his manager.

"Fans would surely want to see that." Hokuto smiled in return. Of course they would.

As he exited the jweb portal, his phone flashed the said picture again. Only this time decorated with stickers. And is on his homescreen.

"We're here."

So much has happened since their debut.

Although he regrets not having taken a lot of photos of that day, they have a lot of time to catch up. Maybe it’s okay to finally tear down his walls and believe. That this time around, surely, they would be happy and eventually reach their dreams. Together.

**6T LINE chat**

**Hokuto: Where should we celebrate on the 22nd**

_My lifetime_

**Author's Note:**

> Although most of the happenings here are based on actual events, I did tinker around and changed some details 
> 
> Fun fact: I think this is my first song fic :o (if it can be considered one lol)  
> Thanks for reading ^^ and HAPPY DEBUT ANNIVERSARY SixTONES! <3


End file.
